MALAYSIA'S second largest fruit park is due to bring in an annual income of RM1.55 billion to the state of Pahang after a period of 20 years.

The Permanent Fruit Production Project (PFPP), located in Pahang, is expected to yield some 1,501 tonnes of fruits annually once operational.

Phase one covers 80ha of land and it is now complete with basic facilities like roads, irrigation systems, water pumps and drainage.

Work on phase two, on a 160ha plot, has started and is to be completed by the middle of next year.

Situated at Lanchang, the PFPP is one of the East Coast Economic Region's high-impact projects to establish and develop the country's fruit-based food industry.

The programme aims to promote large-scale commercial agriculture projects involving small-holders as well as the private sector.

Pahang's Department of Agriculture deputy director Kamariah Ismail said Malaysian Agrifood Corp Bhd (MAFC) is the project's anchor company and it will engage smallholders under the contract farming scheme.

At present, seven smallholders are based in the Lanchang PFPP, working on 58.72ha. The area has been planted with 22ha of papayas by MAFC and 23.7ha of bananas and 23.7ha of jack fruits by smallholders.

Kamariah said two other companies, Felda Herba Corp and Gold Star Sdn Bhd, would also participate as anchor companies.

The Pahang Department of Agriculture has allocated 3,600ha for the development of commercial fruit orchards.

About 3,200ha have been allocated for papaya plantations, 1,000ha for dragon fruits and the remaining 600ha for guava and star fruits.

The Lanchang project, which started in 2006, is one of 11 similar PFPP programmes in Pahang.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the total PFPP projects in Pahang involve 1,281.5 ha of land.

The implementation of the programme involves 107 participants on 821.7ha of land and has produced 819.8 metric tonne of fruits valued at over RM1.8 million.

SPNB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Incorporated, was set up to provide affordable quality homes for Malaysians in line with the government's national housing objectives.

SPNB managing director Datuk Mohd Amin Mohd Salleh said it will build more affordable homes to cater to the needs of low- and medium-income groups, under its Rumah Mesra Rakyat (RMR) and Rumah Mampu Milik (RMM) schemes.

Applicants with household income below RM1,500 a month are eligible for the RMR schemes while applications under the RMM schemes for affordable low- to medium-cost homes, are subject to guidelines determined by respective states.

Some 52 per cent of the 48,134 families classified as hardcore poor live in the east coast. About half of the families that live in the east coast make less than RM1,500 a month.

"SPNB is planning to build 9,638 units of houses in the ECER under RMM scheme in the next five years,"Mohd Amin said in a statement.

Under RMM, some 3,335 homes will be built in Pahang, while SPNB will build 3,335 homes in Pahang, 3,000 in Terengganu and 3,303 in Kelantan.

The RMR scheme is aimed at helping the low-income groups such as fishermen and farmers to own homes with monthly payments as low as RM150, where a third of the development cost of RM60,000 to RM76,000 will be subsidised by the federal government's special fund. For those without fixed income or are self-employed, a Loan Guaranteed Scheme is available.

Mohd Amin said construction has begun on 2,349 RMM homes in Pahang and Kelantan while potential sites for development have been identified in Terengganu.

SPNB has handed over 1,846 RMR homes and is in the midst of building 848 more units in the East Coast.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 (Bernama) -- Two new chicken processing plants to be set up in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) will make the poultry industry more efficient and allow it to tap into South-East Asia’s rising demand for poultry said industry experts.

They said the plants earmarked for Gambang, Pahang and Gua Musang, Kelantan would complement an existing one in Chendering, Terengganu.

In a statement here Friday, ECER said the poultry production was expected to rise by 35 per cent to 175.37 metric tonnes in 2010 from 129.74 metric tonnes in 2005.

The ECER currently contributes 11.9 per cent of the total poultry production in the country.

It said under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Gambang has been identified as the location for a large-scale poultry processing plant, which could process one million birds annually.

Executive consultant for Federation of Livestock Association of Malaysia, Abdul Rahman Md Saleh, said as Malaysia experienced a demand-driven livestock evolution, the association welcomed the proposal as the processing centres modern facilities would help to ensure cleanliness as well as authenticate the meats halal status.

"The additional processing plants will help to better streamline supply of processed chicken and reduce wastage of chicken by-products that are traditionally thrown away such as chicken feathers, legs and stomach lining that can be processed into fertiliser," he said.

Abdul Rahman said these plants could help improve productivity and provide additional income to the industry.

"They will also help to reduce pollution of chicken by-products into the environment.

"We have been asking for more processing centres, so this proposed plan comes at an opportune time. As processing plants need to be big with a minimum workforce of more than 80 people to achieve economies of scale, they will provide ample job opportunities for people in the region," he said.

He said the opportunities for the new plants were good as local and overseas demand for chicken and especially halal meat was encouraging.

"With the current global food shortage and the need for self sufficiency, I believe the new plants will be good investments which will be looked on favorably by market forces," he said.

Yeah said the new plants would further enhance the country's plans in becoming a "halal hub" as chicken is one of the region's major sources of protein.

Meanwhile, both Abdul Rahman and Yeah agreed that the new plants would also help to reduce imports and increase production capacity of processed chicken in chilled meat products.

They said the local poultry industry produced 764,000 tonnes of chicken meat and seven billion eggs annually.

"Some 80 per cent of 1.2 million tones of meat produced annually is chicken, while about 10 to 15 per cent of chicken meat produced locally is exported to Singapore.

"Per capita demand for broiler meat is expected to increase from 28kg per person in 2005 to 29kg per person in 2010 while the projected production increase is 9,503 metric tonnes in 2005 to 11,286 metric tonnes -- valued at RM4.64 billion - in 2010," they said.

The projected production of processed poultry meat in 2010 is valued at RM59.5 million to cater to both domestic and export markets.

KUALA TERENGGANU: Three additional mushroom farms that could produce 300kg of the edible agaric in a day will complement the East Coast Economic Region’s (ECER) thrust to promote industrial crop.

Terengganu’s leading mushroom producer, TLT Dynamic Sdn Bhd will increase its mushroom production from its current 100kg of oyster mushroom production daily via its soon-to-be-ready farms.

The company is Terengganu’s largest mushroom producer.

“We initially started commercial production of grey oyster mushrooms last October where 50 kg of mushrooms a day were collected and with the three farms we are now able to increase our output to three folds,

Gourmet delight: A file picture of the oyster mushroom.

“TLT has spent about RM500,000 to build five farms, each with the capacity to house 30,000 bags of mushroom seeds which can be harvested in five months.” said the company’s executive chairman Sufian Mohd Said said.

Oyster mushrooms have been touted as a gourmet delight the world over.

Known for its nutritional value including anti-oxidant properties, it is a good alternative to animal protein and is believed to be anti-carcinogenic.

Oyster mushrooms are grown in semi-darkened shed with temperatures of 28 degrees Celsius during the day, and between 25 to 26 degrees Celsius at night.

TLT had signed a deal last year with GCH Retail (M) Sdn Bhd for the sale of its mushrooms in the chain’s 87 Giant outlets and 16 Cold Storage stores nationwide.

Sufian added that TLT was also marketing its mushrooms to other supermarkets in Terengganu.

The Ministry of Agriculture has declared mushrooms as an industrial crop. The country’s best selling mushroom is the white oyster.

Terengganu is emerging as a main producer of mushrooms, to reduce its dependency on neighbouring Thailand.

The state government had started giving monetary aid amounting to RM110,000 last year to mushroom cultivators to give the industry a shot in the arm and create farming entrepreneurs.

More than 2.6 million tonnes of mushrooms were imported into Malaysia in 2004, amounting to RM25.74mil.

China, Canada and India are the top three producers of both fresh and processed mushrooms. Global mushroom production is 31% for button, shiitake (24%), oyster (14%), black ear mushroom (9%) and paddy straw mushroom (8%).

KUALA TERENGGANU: The development council for the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) is mulling the setting up of a real-estate investment trust (REIT) for Malay reserve land in the development corridor.

Under the proposed REIT, all the Malay reserve land would be parked under an umbrella fund with the land leased out and the owners receiving dividends, or equity, or both.

The chief executive officer of the newly launched ECER development council (ECERDC), Datuk Jebasingam Issace John, said there was a mix of land types in the region.

“But for the Malay reserve land, we are looking at the setting up of a real-estate trust. The mechanisms and details are being worked out now. The state will be involved in it,” he told The Edge Financial Daily in an exclusive interview.

The REIT option is being considered to realise value for the Malay reserve land, the bulk of which is unutilised at present.

A total of RM112 billion has been targeted as total investments in the ECER by 2020. John said an initial investment of RM18 billion was expected to flow into the region by 2010.

Apart from domestic investors, he said the ECERDC hopes to draw investments from the Middle East, Japan, China and Taiwan. For now, there are local commitments in the plastics and kenaf industries.

It is learnt that some Australian parties have expressed interest in fisheries while several European firms are keen on the tourism industry. Announcements on some of these ventures are expected by year-end.

The ECERDC, formed to take charge of the development of the ECER, can now begin its marketing and promotion work although the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority have been marketing the region since its launch last year.

The setting up of the council was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last Saturday.

Abdullah, who is also the chairman of the council, also announced location-based incentive packages for investors, the first of their kind in the country.

Investors in sectors such as tourism, petrochemical, manufacturing and agriculture can enjoy up to 10 years of income tax exemption from the first year of profit, or investment tax allowance amounting to 100% of capital expenditure for five years.

“We should be able to draw investors not only through incentives but incentives supported by infrastructure,” said John.

He said focus would be given to industrial parks such as the Gebeng Industrial Complex in Pahang which comes with port facilities, Teluk Kalong Heavy Industry Park in Kemaman, which is linked to Kemaman Port, and the petrochemical complex in Kerteh, which includes the Kerteh Plastics Park.

“Infrastructure work at the Kerteh plastics park is almost completed and there are already three investors in place with RM50 million investments,” said John.

“The other three parks are already ongoing. We only need to strengthen the infrastructure and do marketing and promotion to bring the investors here. With the incentive package that we have now, we should be able to draw the investors,” said John, adding that halal parks would be developed in Gambang, Pahang and Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

ECER would also be well linked to the Kuantan-Kuala Terengganu Highway currently under construction.

John also said a feasibility study was being undertaken for the extension of the highway to Kota Bahru. He hoped to see work on this stretch take off under the 9th Malaysia Plan period, or the 10th Plan. Also, the connection between Ipoh and Kuala Berang was expcted to be ready next year.

To expedite work, the ECERDC would appoint an Implementation Coordination Committee (ICC) in each state to fast-track approvals and implementation.

John said the ECER’s agropolitan projects are targeted at the 30,000 hardcore-poor households in the region.

“The target is to eliminate hardcore poverty by 2010. The agropolitan projects are integrated rural development projects. They would have as their main crops rubber and oil palm.”

John said the farmer’s dependents would not be left out. “We want to create other agro-based job opportunities such as poultry farming and cocoa cultivation,” he said, adding that although it was a tall order to provide jobs for the family members, it had to be done.

KUALA LUMPUR: The ECER Development Council will be participating in the Ninth Malaysia International Food and Beverage (MIFB) Trade Fair to be held from July 10 to 12 here.

In a statement yesterday, the ECER Secretariat said the council representatives would explain the concept of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) and its incentives to create food self-sustenance in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing.

It said the council would also be speaking on ECER’s agriculture initiatives at the World Food Shortage Conference, held in conjunction with the fair.

The ECER Development Council is the single authority empowered under an Act of Parliament, the East Coast Economic Region Development Council Act 2008, to drive the implementation of the ECER Master Plan.

KUALA TERENGGANU, July 14 (Bernama) -- The Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) has set up several centres to help spur the development in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER).

Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah, who is UMT Chancellor, said the centres are facility training management centre, social development centre, biodiversity centre as well as an oceanography and an academia.

"UMT's involvement in the national programme showed that the society is recognising the university's role and ability to spur the country's development, particularly in Terengganu," she said at the 6th UMT Convocation involving 1,616 students Monday.

At the event, two UMT students -- Mohd Uzair Rusli who holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Christopher Tan Yuet Han (Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences) -- received the royal education award.

PJ Foods set to tap Middle East mart
By B.Suresh Ram Published: 2008/07/24

THE East Coast Economic Region's push to boost entrepreneurs' halal food production will see spice and seasoning producer PJ Foods Industries Sdn Bhd expanding its business to the Middle East this year.

According to managing director Norehan Mohd Noor, the Middle East market is witnessing strong demand for processed food condiments and ingredients that can be fully certified as halal.

"This increase in demand bodes well for those in the spices and prepared food sector, especially those from Malaysia," she said.

She added that as the halal food market becomes more sophisticated, it is important for Malaysian food producers to tap into new markets as well as demonstrate that all ingredients used are fully halal.

"Because of the purchasing power, the Middle East market will grow in importance. Malaysian spice manufacturers should tap into this growing market and start building their supply network there," she added.

While the Middle East is a vital new market segment for PJ Foods, the company is also seeking to be known as one of the country's premier halal spice and seasoning suppliers.

The global halal food market is worth an estimated US$2.1 trillion a year.

The world market for spices and seasonings is expected to hit 1,857 million tonnes by 2010, driven by the growing popularity of exotic ethnic cuisine, innovation in blended spices and flavours with low fat ingredients.

Demand for blended spices and seasonings is also fuelled by consumers' need for easy and time-saving yet flavourful cooking solutions.

PJ Food says 90 per cent of its output is for local consumption with the rest is exported to Brunei.

KUALA TERENGGANU: A RM2mil goat-breeding facility will be established in the Serating Permanent Food Production Park in Marang to make the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) one of the country’s largest mutton producers.

Operated by Cosmopal Sdn Bhd, the facility is part of the ECER plan to establish Terengganu as a goat and mutton hub.

The 30ha farm currently has 1,400 Jamnapari goats, and each of its three enclosures can house 440 goats.

While infrastructure is being improved, Cosmopal’s target is to raise its breeding livestock to 4,000 goats, in response to increasing demand for good livestock.

Since its incorporation in 2000, Cosmopal has supplied more than 10,000 Jamnapari goats to farmers across Malaysia. Each goat costs between RM750 to RM850.

KUANTAN: Pahang is set to become an information, communication and technology (ICT) infrastructure hub in the country with investments estimated at between RM10bil and RM12bil.

Under the project, the state will be turned into a high-speed broadband infrastructure provider offering bandwidth between 30MB and 100MB nationwide.

According to State Information, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin, the project was proposed and would be undertaken by a consortium comprising state government-linked company Pahang Technology Resources Sdn Bhd and several well-established companies from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States.

“A proposal on the project was submitted to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) a few weeks ago.

“We are now waiting to make a presentation before the Cabinet Committee on ICT that is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” he told reporters after presenting prizes to winners of a debate competition organised by the state Anti Corruption Agency and education department at a hotel here on Thursday.

He added that a team consisting of technical specialists conducted three years of research before drafting the proposal.

To a question, Mohd Sharkar said the project would be funded by the consortium and several financial institutions.

“The companies and financial institutions have given their commitment to provide financial back-up for the project,” he added.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- There are plans in the pipeline for an RM10 million goat technology and research centre in Serating, Marang, under the East Coast Economic Regions livestock farming initiatives.

The research centre, Taman Teknologi Kaprima Bestari, will be located over 10 hectares within a Permanent Food Production Park, the ECER secretariat said in a statement here Tuesday.

The move is aimed at Malaysia achieving self-sufficiency in mutton as the country needs 10 million goats a year.

Currently, Malaysia mainly imports mutton from Australia.

The technology goat park, which will be built and managed by the Department of Veterinary Service Terengganu (JPHT), will collate all relevant information and research on goat breeding, as well as modernize the countrys goat breeding industry, with the ECER as a prominent hub, it said.

"This technology park is projected to be a research and information centre for goat breeders, especially those from Asian countries," JPHTs Director Dr Azizol Mohd Sharun was quoted as saying in the statement.

"We will bring in the latest goat breeding technology and techniques from abroad. This new technology will help breeders to minimize the production cost and give better returns."

Meanwhile, breeders and parties interested in the industry can avail themselves to goat farming courses, he said.

"We envisage the goat park to offer better economic prospects and employment opportunities for local entrepreneurs and graduates in related fields of study."

Aside from goat breeding and research activities, the park also offers an attractive and children-friendly tourist attraction where feeding and patting animals may be highlights.

Terengganu is targeting over 3.5 million visitors this year. Many of its tourism attractions are aimed at nature lovers and the goat park is expected to draw in its fair share of tourists.

The nations per capita consumption of mutton has risen from 0.67kg in 2006 to 0.74kg in 2007.

Malaysia has traditionally been Australias biggest live export market, importing about 15,000 tonnes of mutton and 50,000 goats.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), the ECER is targeted to increase the goat breeding activities by seven percent within five years to tap into increasing local and international demand.

It will focus on high meat yielding goats to replace the smaller local animals.

To achieve its goal of 35 percent self-sufficiency in goat production by year 2015, it will need another 18,000 breeding goats.

The target is for ECER to hit 2,020 metric tonnes in year 2020, it said.

Malaysias goat farming is made up of 75 percent traditional breeders, while 15 per cent is semi-commercial with 10 percent in commercial farming.

Within the ECER, projects to boost goat breeding includes setting up a nucleus goat breeding research centre in Tersat, the establishment of the Collection, Processing and Packaging Centre (CPPC) and Collection and Marketing Centre (CMC) for traditional farmers to assemble and market goats.

KOTA BAHARU, Aug 3 (Bernama) -- Implementation of agropolitant projects, as outlined in the corridor development plan of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER), will be expedited for the benefit of the hardcore poor in Kelantan, Agriculture and Agrobased Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said.

He said the projects, costing RM148 million, would involve areas in south and north Kelantan.

"RM90 million has been allocated to the South Kelantan Development Authority (Kesedar) and RM58 million to the Kemubu Agriculture Development Authority (Kada) for the projects," he told reporters after chairing the Kelantan Federal Action Council meeting here Sunday.

Mustapa said implementation of the projects would benefit more than 4,000 hardcore poor, who would be the project participants.

He said the projects were supposed to have been implemented earlier but delayed as proper planning was needed to ensure their success.

A national-level launch of the project will be carried out by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuala Lipis, Pahang on Tuesday, he added.

Meanwhile, Mustapa is confident that several new development programmes would be made for Kelantan under the Ninth Malaysia Plan second mid-term review.

He said the focus in Kelantan was to eradicate hardcore poverty by 2010.

On today's meeting, Mustapa said it discussed, among other things, the establishment of a veterinary faculty at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan.

He said UMK was not only responsible in providing more educational opportunities to the people but could also become a catalyst of growth for the surrounding areas of its upcoming main campuses in Bachok and Jeli.

"I am happy that UMK is the first university in the country making entrepreneurship as its thrust, and being located in Kelantan is in keeping with the entrepreneur spirit of the people," he said at his installation as UMK chancellor here Sunday.

Tuanku Ismail Petra hoped UMK could use its expertise to support royal projects mooted by him and the Raja Perempuan to improve the livelihood of the poor in rural areas.

"I hope UMK can create excellent centres through research and development, in line with one of the objectives of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) development," he said.

He said Kelantan had once produced thinkers who were well-known in the Malay archipelago and the tradition should be continued by UMK through its key strengths and expertise.

UMK focuses on business, entrepreneurship, natural resource science, creative technology and heritage, he said, adding that "the unique historical and cultural factors of Kelantan is also a source of strength for UMK."

He said UMK had also proven its capability when it was entrusted with the responsibility of becoming the secretariat of the Higher Education Ministry in coordinating the activities and programmes of institutions of higher learning in ECER.

KUALA TERENGGANU, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- A new district may be created north of Kuala Terengganu, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said told the State Assembly here Thursday.

He however said the new district would take some time to materialise as the delineation exercise by the Election Commission was only done once every eight years.

"It is just a matter of time before Terengganu gets a new district," Ahmad told Muhammad Ramli Nuh (BN-Tepoh) who wanted to know whether a North Kuala Terengganu or a Kuala Nerus district would be created soon.

The assembly also heard that inflation rose by 4.5 percent since May due to the rising price of oil and rice.

State Health, Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee Chairman Dr A. Rahman Mokhtar said data from the Statistics Department showed that inflation had increased from 4.1 percent in May to 8.6 percent in June.

"The Consumer Price Index had also increased by 3.9 percent. This followed a surge in the price of food items due to the high price of petrol, diesel and rice since May," he told Nawi Mohamad (BN-Hulu Besut).

To a supplementary question by Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PAS-Sura), Rahman said the state government will launch the "Bumi Hijau" (Green Earth) programme to get the people grow their own vegetables.

"We will also increase rice production by cultivating padi on 2,000 hectares in Setiu and another 2,000 hectares in the North Terengganu Development project," he said.

The assembly also heard that the state government was worried with the rising number of single mothers below 30 years-old which stood at 938.

State Welfare, Community and Women Development Committee Chairman Asha'ari Idris said of the 938 single mothers, 11 were below 20 years-old while 927 were between 21-30 years-old.

"The high number of single mothers below 30 years-old is surprising," he said in reply to a supplementary question by Ramlan Ali (BN-Jabi).

Asha'ari said the single mothers were given seminars, courses and aid of RM200-RM400 monthly to improve their economy.

BACHOK: The East Coast Economic Region (ECER) will see the formation of a partnership between local firm Symphony Advance Sdn Bhd (SASB) and Korea’s Samsung Cheil Industries Incorporated to develop and export kenaf polymer composite.

In a statement yesterday, ECER Secretariat said the two companies would seal the technical collaboration in an exchange of documents ceremony on Aug 22, to be witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Samsung Cheil is Korea’s leading producer of fashion, chemicals and electronic chemical materials. Its major products are synthetic resins such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, polystyrene and electronic chemical materials for semiconductor and digital display.

SASB is a part of the AqilQisti group of companies, with operations in media, technology, agriculture and aquaculture industries.

ECER Secretariat said kenaf had been introduced as a farm crop in the economic corridor because of the fibrous plant’s huge potential. The plant can be processed into environmental-friendly paper, clothing, building material, car accessories and bio-composites.

Spearheaded by the National Tobacco Board, kenaf farming has also come to the forefront recently because the Asean Free Trade Area, which takes effect in 2010, will see Malaysia reduce duties on tobacco imports, making tobacco farming here less competitive.

Under the ECER, the target area for kenaf is about 10,000ha. It is expected to increase the income of 10,000 marginal tobacco farmers and create more jobs.

DAMAC Properties LLC, the largest private property developer in the Middle East, is considering building a multi-billion-ringgit integrated resort development in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER), sources said.

It is understood that Damac is in discussions with the ECER implementation authority for approval of the plan.

"It has expressed interest to further invest in Malaysia and has indicated its intention to move into the ECER," a source familiar with the matter said.

If the deal were to materialise, it would be Damac's second investment in the country after the one in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor, where it is pumping RM397 million to develop commercial and residential properties and a private marina.

The ECER, managed by state-owned Petroliam Nasional Bhd, encompasses Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu. It is associated with oil, gas and petrochemicals; tourism; manufacturing; agriculture; and education.

It is also learnt that the ECER has attracted Chinese investors who want to build resorts because of the region's proximity to South China.

"There is a Chinese group which wants to cultivate about 10,000ha of padi in the ECER, and is currently in discussions with the implementation authority," the source said.

The development period for the ECER will stretch till 2020. Total investment planned is estimated at RM112 billion.

Under the master plan, 227 projects will be implemented. Most will come from the federal government (39 per cent), followed by private finance initiatives (27 per cent), private sector (20 per cent) and government-linked companies (14 per cent).